Primeval: Difference between revisions

|'''Lester''', bringing Becker up to speed.}}

 

 

 

 

A Canadian spinoff, ''[[Series/Primeval New World|Primeval New World]]'', is in production.{{when}}

{{tropelist}}

* [[Action Girl]] - Abby becomes one, YMMV on when. Emily from the Victorean era is also a notable example, when she returns to her era she becomes Spring Heel Jack to hunt down a Raptor, getting the blame for its wrong doings, but is still capable at killing it.

* [[Aborted Arc]] - The Jenny/Claudia arc from series 1 and 2 has gone this way as of series 3. The whole thing with Sarah at the end of Series 3. The creators couldn't have filmed the scenes with Sarah dying ''BEFORE'' moving to Dublin, could they? No, it doesn't seem like they could... so, she dies offscreen (we see a little of her death in the first webisode; she's in a car, trapped, mauled by a Future Predator and cries "Becker! ''BECKER!''") in what was, apparently, her plan.

* [[Action Dress Rip]] - Abby and Sarah in episode 6 of S3. "Great for dancing, not so much for cross-country."

* [[Affirmative Action Girl]]: Sarah in season 3. Jess and Emily in season 4.

* [[All Love Is Unrequited]] - Connor --> Abby --> Stephen --> Helen --> Nick ---> Claudia. At first, anyway.

* [[All There in the Manual]] - Miscellaneous character trivia. Some of it (like Helen's maiden name and Claudia being a [[Lethal Chef]]) never showed up in the series proper, some (like Lester having kids) showed up in very minor ways, and some (like Stephen being in a relationship that ended badly - {{spoiler|with Helen}} - prior to the series proper) played a role.

* [[Always a Bigger Fish]]

* [[Always Save the Girl|Always Save Rex]]: Abby repeatedly goes back into danger to save Rex.

** Taken to the furthest extreme with {{spoiler|the death of the}} '' {{spoiler|main character}}'' in Series three.

* [[Apocalypse How]] - {{spoiler|It appears the future might hold a Level 2 or even 3 (probably 3a)...}}

** Also, {{spoiler|Christine Johnson, who was killed by a Future Predator after she was pushed into an anomaly leading into the future, by Helen Cutter}}. She {{spoiler|had orchestrated a military takeover of the ARC,}} and was previously described by Lester as "like a Velociraptor, only better-dressed".

** The guy on the beach in the penultimate episode of season 2, who refuses to turn down his loud music when asked, in fact turns it ''up'', and draws a Silurian scorpion right to him.

** the [[Alpha Bitch]] who gets eaten by a ''Therocephalian''.

** {{spoiler|Henry Merchant}} definitely counts.

* [[Bald of Evil]] - Captain Ross (one of Christine's soldiers) sports one.

* [[Balls of Steel]] - Used in Series 3, Episode 7, where Danny tricks a knight with the old [[Look Behind You!|Look Up]] routine, only to discover out his groin is armour protected.

** Abby: Rex.

** Connor: Abby.

** Lester: His Jag.

** Jenny: Crash her wedding, and you ''WILL'' pay, as the Hyaenodon found out.

** Connor gets another in Season 3 {{spoiler|when he saves Abby from a Raptor}}

*** Matt and Becker get several of these in Series 3 (Becker) and Series 4 and 5 (Becker and Matt).

** As does the Raptor in the third season finale.

* [[Boom! Headshot!]] - The first Future Predator is killed in this way.

{{quote|"You will be dealing with a highly strung and temperamental team of rank amateurs who just happen to be brilliant at what they do."}}

* [[The Bus Came Back]] - Jenny reappears when the team detects an anomaly at her wedding. She is really not happy about that... the Anomaly, I mean, not the team; she doesn't mind seeing them, invites them to the wedding and beats a Hyaenodon with a candlebra.

** Danny reappears at the end of season 4.

* [[Cain and Abel]] - {{spoiler|Danny and Ethan. Because Ethan is Patrick, Danny's long lost brother}}

** Used by Matt in Season 5 against a ''T. rex''.

* [[Celebrity Paradox]] - the S Club 7 song "Don't Stop Movin" is heard in the first episode of Series 4, thus creating the possibility that Hannah Spearitt exists in this universe.

** In season 4 {{spoiler|Danny's long lost brother returns (as does Danny himself)}}

* [[Continuity Nod]]: In 5x05, after dealing with a T-Rex, Becker makes a comment about the EMDs actually being able to take one down. In the first episode of season four, while arguing with Matt over the effectiveness of EMDs, Matt said that they could take down a fully-grown tyrannosaur.

* [[Da Chief]]: Lester slips into it every so often.

** Cutter and Becker have had their moments as well, but Lester is still the king of this trope.

** Connor develops a tendency to do this under stress.

{{quote|'''Connor''': That's funny Matt, I thought we could all just stick our hands out the portholes and paddle back to the 21st century.}}

* [[Did Not Do the Research]] - Averted. While the show does take dramatic license at points (Silurian scorpions weren't ''that'' big) they do it with full knowledge that they're deviating from hard science. Besides, [[Rule of Cool|you]] ''[[Rule of Cool|know]]'' [[Rule of Cool|you want to see Nick and Stephen being chased by GIANT scorpions!]]

* [[Does This Remind You of Anything?]] - a parasite that causes its host to become [[28 Days Later|very aggressive, spreads itself through bites and alters the colour of their eyes?]]

** The most egregious example so far is probably Sarah, who was last seen saying she had "a plan" to get Connor and Abby back from the past. A year later, they get back on their own, to discover she died offscreen at some point, apparently in some undescribed attempt to save them. [[Anticlimax|Yeah.]] As it turns out, her plan was to go to the future and find Abby, Connor and Danny... great idea! You die. In a car. Mauled by a predator, while crying out for Becker...

*** This is because her actress has a kid and lives in London [[Doubling for London|while the show is now largely filmed in Ireland]].

* [[Dying to Be Replaced]] - {{spoiler|Nick Cutter}} bites it to make way for {{spoiler|Danny Quinn}} early in Season 3.

** It wandered into this much earlier with either the Mammoth on the (crowded) motorway, the Egyptian Prehistoric Crocodile on the rampage in central London, or at the very latest the prehistoric rhino stampede over a camp ground.

** Admittedly Connor ''has'' just been knocked out and isn't thinking clearly so the face palm isn't entirely justified!

*** And then he hits it with a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|great big stick]], utterly redeeming himself!

*** Note, these aren't actually his last lines, (which were, "Tell Claudia Brown ... oh, never mind ..."), as he had a conversation with Connor, but his last lines before being shot.

** Also in Season 4 we have another Irish actress (Ruth Bradley) playing a Londoner (Lady Emily Merchant.)

* Famous Last Words: From Sarah... sort of "I have an idea." Yeah... apparently that idea is getting killed!

** (Technically, according to The first webisode episode, she was trapped in a car, mauled by a future predator and her last words were actually "Becker! ''BECKER!"'')

** Then Helen took over that role. {{spoiler|Sans any underwear at all}}.

** Most of Abby's regular outfits qualify though, and her kickboxing practice affords many more opportunities.

** For the ladies, Becker taking his shirt off towards the end of 4.04. And ''how.''

** Same goes for Connor, three episodes earlier. Yum.

* [[Feathered Fiend]] - The phorusrachids, and to a lesser extent, the Hesperornis and the Deinonychus raptors, which did have some light feathers, which you will notice, if you look closely, enough.

* [[Five-Man Band]]:

** In Series 5, Abby's tendancy to keep cool sticky situations... disappears.

** Helen has also grown more psychotic as the series progresses.

* [[Flip-Flop of God]]: The decision of the genus for the Raptors seen in the series has gone back and forth between the show's creators right up until Series 5. Comments alternated between them being Velociraptors or Utahraptor (which was mentioned by Helen Cutter in the first series). After a while they eventually settled on saying they were based on Deinonychus, which is the closest approximate match the Primeval Raptors have for a real life equivalent in terms of appearance and size. And now it's decided that they're Dromaeosaurus instead... meaning they changed their minds to make for a ''less accurate depiction''.

{{quote|'''Jenny''': I have to get back to the ARC.

'''Sarah''': The Ark?

'''Connor''': Not [[The Bible|that one.]] }}

{{quote|'''Jenny:''' There was an eyewitness - a young woman in the museum.

'''Lester:''' Well, you know, have her shot and dispose of her body discreetly. ''(As he's leaving)'' [[Refuge in Audacity|Just kidding.]] }}

{{quote|'''Lester:''' This isn't over, Christine.

'''Christine:''' When people say that James, it usually is. }}

**

{{quote|'''Danny:''' We should split up.

'''Connor:''' ''Split up?'' I'm not splitting up! Have you not seen the horror movies? }}

* [[Guarding the Portal]]

* [[Hand Behind Head]] - Connor and, lately, Abby seem quite fond of this.

** Played straight with {{spoiler|Caroline}}.

** Becker a couple of episodes earlier, but he's [[Not Quite Dead]].

* [[Hoist by His Own Petard]] - {{spoiler|Oliver Leek,}} the villain of series 2, is {{spoiler|killed by his own army of mind-controlled future predators after the mind-control device is broken}}.

* [[Honey Trap]]: Caroline for Connor in season two. (She's working for Leek.)

** Nick is a minor example of this, at first. He pretty quickly stops trusting her.

*** {{spoiler|Connor in Series 4-5. Stops trusting him [Philip] in episode 4 of series 5}}

**** {{spoiler|And Philip himself is yet another guy who trusted Helen.}}

* [[How Do You Like Them Apples?]] - Helen often eats an apple with the help of her oversized knife.

* [[Idiot Ball]] - The defining plot point for almost any given episode.

** Connor in Series 5. {{spoiler|He's working on ''creating'' Anomalies... despite knowing that they are in some way tied to both the Artefact and Future Arc he himself witnessed in Series 3. Well done Connor, you probably just took everyone one step further to whatever accident caused them to appear through history ''in the first place!''}}

** He's not the only one to use this. Golf club, anyone?

{{quote|'''Claudia''': [[Bond One-Liner|Hole in one!]]}}

** Once again, Lester and the mammoth count. Sort of.

** In fairness she does seem excellent at keeping an eye on the ARC operatives and making important connections.

* [[Indy Hat Roll]] - Connor does one (sans going back for anything) in S2, episode 1.

** Well, they managed to change the present (by accident), so the future shouldn't be off-limits... a Meta-Stable Time Loop is more consistent with.

** Episode 2 of series 5 directly references what happened to Emily when she returned to the 1860s, but also indirectly references the murder spree of "Spring Heel Jack" at the same time. Both these things are hugely important in episode 3.

* [[In Spite of a Nail]] - Leaving baby future predators in the past specifically switches Claudia Brown with Jenny Lewis, introduces Oliver, and gives the team a new home base? Okay.

** [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] repeatedly. Early on, Stephen points out how odd it is that so little changed, as do several other characters (including Cutter) later on. Toward the end of Season 2, it's suggested that the sheer implausibility of it all is significant to the understanding of the anomalies.

*** There were also other things that changed, or may have, that were never mentioned. Abby has a different apartment, no longer walks around in her underwear, and seemed to have no romantic feelings for Stephen. Connor seems a bit more shy - compared to him asking Abby for a kiss is Series 1 - and his friends are never mentioned, which could imply he never had them {{spoiler|One of them (ie, the surviving one) pops up in 4.2}}. His taste in clothing also changes as instead of button downs and sweaters/sweater vests, he wears mostly tee shirts, hoodies, and button vests. Also, instead of being a dinosaur expert, he instead becomes a computer genius. Lester's suits are a lot less tacky, and he's no longer a knight (check the credits) or an asshole. There are other things as well (the gorgonopsid never died, the scutosarus never returned to its time, etc).

** In episode 1.5, Abby notes that they can't hear any birdsong... out in the country... on a clear day.

* [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]] - Both Cutter and Lester are examples of this trope.

* [[Jumped At the Call]] - After learning about the existence of the anomalies, Danny went out of his way to <s> pester</s> aid the ARC crew until they let him join. Connor did this, too, in Season 1.

* [[Karmic Death]] - Several. {{spoiler|Mick Harper and his boss, Oliver Leek, Christine, and finally Helen herself}}.

** {{spoiler|Henry Merchant}}. Should have paid more attention to the raptor instead of threatening Matt and Emily.

* [[Killed Off for Real]] - {{spoiler|So far, Cutter, Stephen, Helen, Ryan, Sarah, and a whole host of minor characters.}}

* [[Land Mine Goes Click]] - used to blow up a [[Feathered Fiend|phorusrachid]], as well as {{spoiler|Captain Ross}}.

** Understandable in the case of Becker, given that his first name is Hilary.

* [[Last-Second Word Swap]] - "Smells like<s>shit</s>... something rotten."

** Abby's relationship with Rex sorta counts, too.

** [[Papa Wolf]] - Subverted with the raptor in the Season 2 premiere: It eats the baby raptor after the little critter gets used as bait to try and draw it out.

*** Played straight with the future predators.

* [[Manipulative Bastard]]: Oliver Leek.

* [[McLeaned]] - {{spoiler|Sarah}} after the S3 finale; she's mauled to Death in a car (revealed in the first webisode) in the future while calling out for Becker. Nasty way to go.

** The show's been getting better about this. One episode of series 4 had the heroes fail to save a girl while managing to save two boys, although the heroes are upset about their failure, they don't dwell on it ''too'' much.

* [[Monster of the Week]] - Mostly prevalent in season one before the Helen arc found its feet, but at heart the show is an adventure series based on what is going to come through this week's anomaly.

* [[Mood Whiplash]] - Episode 1.4 contains this - the tension is broken when the dodos come through. {{spoiler|Then Tom gets infected, and the show goes darker than it's ever gone before when he dies.}}

{{quote|'''Connor:''' I helped build this. I need to make it right.}}

* [[My God, What Have I Done?]] - {{spoiler|Phillip when he realises Matt's predictions were right and his anomaly is going to destroy the world.}}

** Amusingly Lampshaded by Helen, who states that the Predator has "an almost ''supernatural'' ability to stalk its prey."

** A human version pops up late in series 5: {{spoiler|a [[Mook]] manages to catch Matt completely off-guard by ''running straight at him from the side.'' Emily's attacker grabs her from behind, saving her from being a victim of this trope.}}

* [[Not Important to This Episode Camp]] - The Season 3 finale sent Lester to this.

{{quote|'''Abby''': No he didn't. He really didn't, Connor. That was what ''Helen wanted''}}

* [[Oh Crap]] - The expression on {{spoiler|Helen's}} face just before {{spoiler|her [[Karmic Death]] by Raptor}}. Beautiful, just beautiful.

* [[Outrun the Fireball]] - Helen, after she blows up the hotel in Episode 5. Nick does something similar in Season 3.

*** The masquerade finally is bust right open in season 5 episode 5, when {{spoiler|a T-Rex attacks London city centre}}.

* [[Papa Wolf]]: It is repeatedly demonstrated that you do NOT want to mess with Lester's team. Do so at your own risk.

* [[Pet Baby Wild Animal]] - Rex, Sid, and Nancy

* [[Phlebotinum Rebel]] - Valerie mistakenly thinks the Smilodon is this.

* [[Plucky Comic Relief]] - Connor

* [[Plucky Girl]]: Taylor in 2x05.

* [[Praetorian Guard]]: In the Season 2 finale, Oliver Leek refers to the small army of future predators he's gathered as his "very own Praetorian Guard". Of course, as soon as they're free of his control, they promptly eat him.

*** And even those caused quite a disaster when they caused a hospital to lose power.

*** Being a nuisance is not the same as being a monster.

** Also, the show makes it clear that all the prehistoric creatures are ''animals'', not monsters, and even the most dangerous ones are just predators, not evil, and the characters will only kill them if there is absolutely no other option.

** Lester and Christine are also married in real life. [[Foe Yay|Yep.]]

*** The best part about the Lester/Christine one is that it was completely unintentional. According to the actress, Belinda Stewart-Wilson: "I had been to a few meetings and at one, the director said, ‘Do you realize that you will be playing opposite Ben Miller? …Do you know Ben Miller at all?’ ‘Well, I AM married to him’." ... Uh, not anymore, apparently... sort of... they're seperated, but not divorced.

* [[Redemption Equals Death]] - {{spoiler|Stephen}} at the end of Season 2.

** {{spoiler|Philip}} as well at the end of Season 5, though, unlike {{spoiler|Stephen's}}, his was all in vain.

* [[Retool]] - At the end of Season 1 the creators to the opportunity to tweak the casting slightly, give the team a wider scope, and gift them a new base. More slight tweakage occurs in Season 3 where they quietly drop the Claudia/Jenny arc in the wake of {{spoiler|Cutter's}} death.

** {{spoiler|Except Danny's brother wasn't killed...}}

* [[Rule of Cool]] - While the show's website (at least the older version of it) and interviews makes it clear that the filmmakers do their homework, they occasionally enlarge the creatures for dramatic purposes (''Pristichampsus'', for instance, was about ten feet long in real life, but the creators acknowledge that they enlarged it for the show).

** They had raptors chasing characters who were riding motorbikes through a mall. [[Rule of Cool]] indeed.

* [[Shut UP, Hannibal]] - From the episode 3 of season 1:

{{quote|'''Helen:''' I offer you the Key to Time. ''The Key to Time, Nick.'' And you turn your back on it. Call yourself a scientist!

'''Cutter:''' I call myself a human being. }}

* [[Somebody Set Up Us the Bomb]]

* [[Spotlight-Stealing Squad]]: Connor and Abby. Their relationship is the only subplot with no direct relation to dinosaurs or anomalies that lasts more than a couple of episodes. By Season Four, they're arguably the main characters, even if they're not in charge yet.

* [[Stable Time Loop]] - Sir William knows to go back and marry Elizabeth because the writing on his own grave tells him to. And also because of Helen, {{spoiler|the totality of human history.}}

** Connor also {{spoiler|figured out how to create Anomalies, thus potentially [[Timey-Wimey Ball|being the cause of the very reason he joined the ARC in the first place...]] }}

{{quote|'''Helen''': You know, I can see why Nick likes you... you're his type, Claudia. Strong, independent, reasonably intelligent...

'''Claudia''': Shall we stick to the point? }}

** There are quite a few Stock Not-Dinosaurs used, however. Cases in point: Pteranodon, Smilodon, Mammoth (although not a Woolly Mammoth), and Mosasaurus.

** Series 5 has been confirmed to feature a T.Rex at some point.

*** {{spoiler|It does}}.

** One of the novels has a Liopleurodon.

** Poor Connor seems the victim of this more often than anyone else. The monsters seem to wait on cue for him to say something reassuring.

** When time travel is explained by such lines as "The creatures are proof that the past exists," you know that nobody knows what's going on.

** The girl running from {{spoiler|the t-rex}} in series five {{spoiler|''should'' count, since she basically makes all of the wrong decisions when it comes to surviving, but Matt manages to save her.}}

* [[Tyrannosaurus Rex]] - {{spoiler|Season 5, episode 5}}

* [[Uncanceled]] - Hell, yes!

* [[What Happened to the Mouse?]] - So, Rex is still hanging around the ARC, but we've not seen a peep out of Diictodons Sid and Nancy.

** Answered in a later episode. {{spoiler|Lester tells Abby they found an anomaly back to Sid and Nancy's time period.}} No, he didn't. It has been confirmed by the producers that Sid and Nancy are currently "keeping their heads low" in the menagerie along with the Dracorex and the Mammoth.

* [[What the Hell Is That Accent?]]: Quite a few of the extras from season 4 onwards where the show was filmed in Ireland so you get some pretty woeful attempts at English accents. April from season 5 is probably the most glaring example.

* [[White-Haired Pretty Girl]] - Abby. It's actually a very pale blonde.

** Jess hates insects, but she has reason - she's allergic and {{spoiler|almost dies in one episode.}}

* [[Wild Card]] - Helen Cutter

** Repeated in 4x06, with Jess trying to defuse Ethan's bomb.

** The Gorgonopsid may have avoided it, but the Future Predators have well and truly fallen into it. They often get used simply to make something else scary or awesome.

** If it is a human threat, then professional soldier Becker will be the one to get beaten up and/or shot to show how dangerous things are.

* [[You Need to Get Laid]] - Danny's response to Becker having a "favourite" gun.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Primeval]]